KFC recalls kids meal toys

Published on August 11, 2000.

Tricon Global Restaurants' KFC Corp., Louisville, Ky., recalled 425,000 Tangled Treeples toys included in the fast-feeder's June kids meal promotion. The premium is a 3-inch, green, plastic container that holds seven small, blue plastic animal figures that can be linked together. The recall was initiated after a report to the Consumer Product Safety Commission that a 19-month-old girl had gotten the green container stuck on her face. The child's mother was able to remove the container and the child wasn't hurt, according to the company and the CPSC. The incident presented a hazard similar to one involving Burger King Corp. that resulted in the December 1999 recall of 25 million plastic Pokemon balls. The Tangled Treeples premium received no ad support from KFC agency Y&R Advertising, New York. It's unclear how the recall will affect future KFC promotions, a company spokesman said. "Anything like this provides a potential opportunity to ensure you provide products safe as possible,'' he said, noting KFC is currently reviewing its safety procedures. He said the toy was tested by two independent safety labs that are gold standards in the industry and that the labs use all the highest-level safety testing including those of the American Society for Testing & Materials.